SIX Hidden Features You Need To Know on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch, whatever you think about it, is selling very, VERY well indeed. The FT is reporting that initial sales surpassed both the original iPad and iPhone, meaning Apple’s first foray into wearable technology is off to a very solid start. Nevertheless, there are issues and the most notable of which is Apple’s on-going struggle to produce the devices in high enough yields to meet consumer demand.
“We are learning quickly about customer preferences between the different configurations,”said Tim Cook in a recent interview on the troubles of producing the Apple Watch. “In some cases we called that well, in some cases we are making adjustments to get in line with demand. But I’m confident this is something we understand how to do and will do.”
The Apple Watch is a new product, though, and it has A LOT of new features and UX tricks and sometimes this leads to Watch users not knowing that can perform certain functions with the Watch. That's why we've put together this handy little guide that shows you hidden Apple Watch features you probably didn't know about.
The Apple Watch is Apple's latest entry into its growing ecosystem. First there was the Mac, then the iPod, followed by the iPhone and iPad–and now the Watch. But unlike the the preceding devices, the Apple Watch has the most radically different UI that Apple has ever put out. Because of its screen size the company had much less surface area to work with, meaning that in order to keep the limited screen space as uncluttered as possible Apple needed to get creative about how users access certain features.

 

AirPlay music from your Apple Watch to external speakers or the Apple TV

The Apple Watch allows you to store music directly on the device, which you can then play via its speaker or Bluetooth headphones. But not many people know you can actually AirPlay your tunes in the Apple Watch to the Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible Bluetooth speakers.
The reason not many people know this is because Apple has done a terrific job at hiding this. You can only access this feature from one place in your Watch–on a specific screen in the Music app. Open the Music app and go to the song-playing screen. Now Force Touch on the display until a new menu appears. You'll see four buttons appear, one of which says AirPlay. Tap this button and on the next menu tap the AirPlay source you would like to send the music to.

Use your voice to launch apps

The Apple Watch home screen presents apps as icons in a cluster. It's a clever way to arrange apps, but some users find tapping the small icon touch zones a bit cumbersome. Apple understands that, which is why they've added the ability to launch apps by using your voice.
Simply press and hold the Digital Crown to activate Siri, then speak your command to launch an app. You can say "Launch [app name]" or "Open [app name]" and the app will immediately open.

Access shortcuts to control Apple Watch modes and conserve battery

From any watch face screen you can access a Control Center panel by swiping up. On this panel you'll first find shortcuts to turn on Airplane mode, enable Do Not Disturb mode, and mute sounds. Swipe to your left to see a battery meter screen. This shows you how much power you have left. If the battery life is getting too low for your liking you can tap the Power Reserve button to automatically enter Power Reserve mode to save precious battery life.

Quickly switch between apps

A screen as small as the one found on the Apple watch can make navigation cumbersome, which is why most people want to keep it to a minimum. But Apple has built in a clever physical button trick that can help you speed up app switching. If you double-press the Digital Crown you'll be taken from the screen you're currently on–this can be an app screen or the home screen–and taken to the last screen you were on.
So, if you're on the home screen and double-press the Digital Crown you'll be taken to the previous screen you were on, say, a screen in the Music app. Double-press the Digital Crown again to quickly return to the home screen.

Take screen shots

This is my favorite hidden feature. As a tech journalist I find this extremely handy, especially when reviewing apps. But non-journalists find screenshots just as helpful as well. Sometimes it fun to share screenshots of your home screen arrangement. Other times a screenshot can help you tell a developer where you've found a bug in their app.
To take a screenshot you simply need to press the Digital Crown and the Side button (the one below the Digital Crown) at the same time. The screen will flash white and the screenshot will be saved to your iPhone's Photos library.

Clear all notifications at once

I'm a big believer you should keep notifications on the Apple Watch to a minimum. The more notifications you allow, the quicker your battery drains. But even if you love getting notifications, too many of them can be overwhelming. Thankfully Apple has created a way to clear them all at once. Simply swipe down from the top of the Apple Watch's display to show all your notifications. If you want to clear them all at once, tap and hold on (also known as Force Touch) a notification to bring up a "Clear All" button. Tap it and every notification will be cleared.